SHAYLA’S SNEAKY PLAN — LAUREN AND D’NISHA CLASH OVER THE PODCAST
SCENE 1 — WAYNE’S HOUSE — LIVING ROOM — AFTERNOON
The house is quiet.
Lauren sits on the couch, scrolling through her phone and reviewing notes for the podcast.
She looks focused, but there is a slight tension in her expression.
The front door opens.
Shayla walks inside.
She looks around before approaching Lauren.
SHAYLA
“Lauren, can I talk to you for a minute?”
Lauren looks up.
LAUREN
“Sure. What’s going on?”
Shayla sits beside her and lowers her voice.
She glances toward the hallway, making sure nobody else is listening.
SHAYLA
“It’s about D’Nisha.”
Lauren’s expression immediately changes.
LAUREN
“What about her?”
Shayla leans closer.
SHAYLA
“You need to find a way to get D’Nisha off the podcast.”
Lauren looks surprised.
LAUREN
“Why would I do that?”
SHAYLA
“Because if you don’t, she’s going to take over everything.”
Lauren shakes her head.
LAUREN
“Shayla, that doesn’t make sense. The podcast is supposed to be something we work on together.”
Shayla gives her a serious look.
SHAYLA
“You’re not seeing what I’m seeing.”
Lauren remains silent.
SHAYLA
“D’Nisha is getting closer and closer to Wayne. First, it’s the podcast. Then she’ll start having a say in everything else.”
Lauren looks uncomfortable.
LAUREN
“I trust Wayne.”
Shayla quickly responds.
SHAYLA
“You can trust Wayne and still protect your position.”
Lauren looks down at her phone.
Shayla continues.
SHAYLA
“You need to figure out a way to remove her from your path before it becomes too late.”
Lauren looks back at her.
LAUREN
“I don’t want any drama.”
Shayla smiles faintly.
SHAYLA
“Then handle it quietly.”
Shayla stands.
SHAYLA
“Just think about what I said.”
She walks away.
Lauren watches her leave.
For a moment, Lauren says nothing.
But Shayla’s words remain in her mind.
SCENE 2 — PODCAST ROOM — NEXT DAY
The podcast room is ready.
Microphones are positioned on the table.
Headphones sit beside each chair.
D’Nisha enters carrying a notebook.
She smiles as she looks around.
D’NISHA
“Everything is ready. I organized the topics for today.”
Lauren walks in behind her.
She looks at the table.
LAUREN
“You organized everything?”
D’Nisha looks confused by Lauren’s tone.
D’NISHA
“Yeah. I thought it would save us some time.”
Lauren puts her phone on the table.
LAUREN
“I thought we were going to discuss the topics together.”
D’Nisha pauses.
D’NISHA
“We always discuss them together.”
LAUREN
“Not when one person makes all the decisions.”
D’Nisha looks surprised.
D’NISHA
“What are you talking about?”
Lauren folds her arms.
LAUREN
“I’m saying this is supposed to be a shared podcast.”
D’NISHA
“It is.”
LAUREN
“Then why are you acting like you’re in charge?”
D’Nisha slowly puts her notebook down.
D’NISHA
“I’m not acting like I’m in charge. I’m just trying to help.”
Lauren shakes her head.
LAUREN
“You’ve been making a lot of decisions lately.”
D’NISHA
“And you’ve been questioning everything I do.”
The tension rises.
LAUREN
“Because I feel like you’re trying to take over.”
D’Nisha stares at her.
D’NISHA
“Take over?”
She lets out a short, disbelieving laugh.
D’NISHA
“Lauren, I’m trying to make the podcast better.”
LAUREN
“By controlling everything?”
D’NISHA
“I’m not controlling anything!”
The door opens.
Wayne walks into the room.
He immediately notices the tension.
WAYNE
“What’s going on?”
Neither woman answers.
Wayne looks from Lauren to D’Nisha.
WAYNE
“Why are you two arguing?”
Lauren takes a breath.
LAUREN
“We’re talking about the podcast.”
D’NISHA
“She thinks I’m trying to take control.”
Wayne looks at Lauren.
WAYNE
“Is that what this is about?”
Lauren nods.
LAUREN
“I just think we need clear boundaries.”
Wayne looks frustrated.
WAYNE
“Then talk about boundaries without turning this into a fight.”
D’Nisha picks up her notebook.
D’NISHA
“I wasn’t trying to start anything.”
Lauren responds immediately.
LAUREN
“Neither was I.”
The room becomes silent.
SCENE 3 — HALLWAY — MOMENTS LATER
D’Nisha walks out of the podcast room.
Lauren follows.
LAUREN
“D’Nisha, wait.”
D’Nisha turns around.
D’NISHA
“What?”
Lauren tries to remain calm.
LAUREN
“I’m not saying you can’t be part of the podcast.”
D’NISHA
“Then what are you saying?”
LAUREN
“I just want my role to be respected too.”
D’Nisha looks at her.
D’NISHA
“I respect you, Lauren. But lately, you’ve been treating me like I’m the problem.”
Lauren becomes defensive.
LAUREN
“Because things have changed.”
D’NISHA
“What changed?”
Lauren hesitates.
She remembers Shayla’s words.
D’Nisha notices the hesitation.
D’NISHA
“Who has been talking to you?”
Lauren looks away.
D’Nisha’s expression changes.
D’NISHA
“Was it Shayla?”
Lauren remains silent.
D’Nisha realizes the answer.
D’NISHA
“So that’s what this is.”
LAUREN
“Shayla only gave me advice.”
D’NISHA
“She gave you advice about getting me off the podcast, didn’t she?”
Lauren says nothing.
D’Nisha looks hurt.
D’NISHA
“I knew something felt different.”
Lauren takes a step forward.
LAUREN
“D’Nisha, listen to me.”
D’NISHA
“No. You listen to me.”
Her voice becomes emotional.
D’NISHA
“If you have a problem with me, talk to me. Don’t let someone else convince you that I’m trying to take something from you.”
Lauren looks conflicted.
LAUREN
“I never wanted this to happen.”
D’NISHA
“But it did.”
D’Nisha walks away.
Lauren remains standing in the hallway.
SCENE 4 — WAYNE’S HOUSE — LIVING ROOM — EVENING
Wayne walks into the living room.
Lauren is sitting quietly.
He looks upset.
WAYNE
“Lauren, we need to talk.”
Lauren looks up.
LAUREN
“About what?”
WAYNE
“The podcast.”
Lauren sighs.
LAUREN
“I know.”
Wayne sits across from her.
WAYNE
“I don’t understand why you let this situation get this far.”
Lauren looks down.
LAUREN
“I was worried.”
WAYNE
“Worried about what?”
Lauren hesitates.
LAUREN
“That D’Nisha was getting too involved.”
Wayne shakes his head.
WAYNE
“Getting involved in the podcast doesn’t mean she’s trying to take over my life.”
Lauren looks at him.
LAUREN
“Shayla made me think—”
Wayne immediately interrupts.
WAYNE
“There it is.”
Lauren stops.
WAYNE
“So Shayla put this idea in your head?”
Lauren nods slowly.
Wayne becomes visibly frustrated.
WAYNE
“Lauren, if you had concerns, you should have come to me.”
LAUREN
“I know.”
WAYNE
“Instead, you confronted D’Nisha and turned the podcast into an argument.”
Lauren’s eyes fill with regret.
LAUREN
“I didn’t mean for things to go this far.”
Wayne stands.
WAYNE
“But they did.”
He takes a breath, trying to calm himself.
WAYNE
“I’m angry because this could have been handled differently.”
Lauren looks down.
LAUREN
“I’m sorry.”
Wayne remains silent for a moment.
WAYNE
“If you want to work on the podcast, then work with D’Nisha. Don’t compete with her.”
Lauren nods.
LAUREN
“I understand.”
Wayne walks away.
Lauren stays on the couch, thinking about everything that happened.
SCENE 5 — OUTSIDE WAYNE’S HOUSE — NIGHT
Shayla stands outside, looking at her phone.
She receives a message.
She reads it.
A small smile appears on her face.
But inside the house, Lauren is sitting alone, realizing that Shayla’s advice has created a much bigger problem than she expected.
D’Nisha is hurt.
Wayne is furious.
And the future of the podcast is now uncertain.
Lauren looks toward the door.
LAUREN
“I have to fix this.”